Smile
by such a dreamer
Summary: An excerpt from the mind of Severus Snape, when he was enrolled in Hogwarts. He can't believe the love of his life wound up with James Potter. Read and review!


It was positively sickening to watch, he deduced miserably, looking at the five in front of him. James Potter and his cronies were playing a friendly round of Exploding Snap, laughing and joking with each other. It seemed as though they didn't have a care in the world, and it was too much for Severus to witness. He stood in the Great Hall, just behind a large suit of armor, so that he would be safely hidden from their view. Unfortunately, he couldn't help but be drawn to their group, he felt oddly compelled to watch them…or, he thought, more specifically to watch her.

She was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen, with long copper hair, vivid green eyes and flawless pale skin. Yes, Lily Evans was exactly what he had always wanted in a girl: beauty, brains, and well behaved. Her only fault was that she tended to hang out with the likes of James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew; the infamous "Marauders". Pathetic; that was Severus' take on their little group.

 Then again, Severus thought to himself, why wouldn't she surround herself with them? She had been a couple with James Potter for almost a year, and they had shown no signs of slowing down. In fact, it was rumored that James was going to propose to her at the end of the school year, but these tales had been circulating Hogwarts for a long time now. He didn't know whether to believe them or not, but judging from the happiness radiating from her, he knew that it didn't matter.

There was a strange, familiar feeling settling in the bottom of his stomach, one that increased as he watched her. She was smiling widely, exclaiming something of protest in Black's direction. He knew that he was jealous; widely, insanely jealous of James Potter and his friends. Of course Lily was attracted to Potter: he was rich, apparently quite good looking, Dumbledore's all-time favorite student, and the school's Quidditch star. Severus had always assumed that Lily saw beyond those things, didn't care about those things. Apparently he was wrong. However, even as he processed his thoughts, he knew they weren't true. Lily was attracted to Potter for something deeper that Severus couldn't see, couldn't understand.

Lily didn't even know how he felt about her, and probably never would. Severus wasn't about to tell her, and no one else knew. It didn't matter, he reminded himself, she was with the almighty James Potter; the very same who tormented him endlessly for the majority of his Hogwarts years. How a girl as sweet and caring as Lily could end up with such an egotistical bastard was beyond him.

"Looks like we have company," a clear voice sliced his thoughts in half, and Severus focused on Sirius Black standing in front of him, a smirk etched on his lips.

"Don't flatter yourself, Black," he snapped, trying to keep his concentration on his mortal enemy, and not the love of his life. She was standing slightly behind Potter, with a rather sad look in her eye. Great, he thought sarcastically, she feels nothing but pity. "I was merely here to remind Pettigrew that I am not available for tutoring in potions tomorrow."

"Don't worry, Pete," Remus said cheerfully, "one of us can help you out. Lily's brilliant with potions."

He had that right, Severus thought, she was amazing with both potions and charms. Remus was the most sensible one of them all; and the only one that Severus could half stand, and solely because he had a maturity that was not easily found in people. He could stand Remus, but he didn't trust him. He was a werewolf after all, and even serious, mature werewolves could not be trusted. "That said, I suppose I'll be on my way."

The five returned to their fun and games, and Severus rolled his eyes at their juvenile acts. Potter glanced over his shoulder at him, with a questioning gaze at Lily, and Severus turned away hastily with a scowl in Potter's direction. His long robes swished about the floor, but stopped suddenly as he came in direct contact with his longtime friend, Lucius Malfoy.

"Don't tell me you're still keen on that godforsaken mudblood," his platinum blonde friend said in an oily, practiced voice. He spoke in a whispered tone, as to not attract the attention of Potter and company.

"I am not keen on _anybody_, Lucius…but I'd rather you not use that term for Evans. You don't want Dumbledore to hear you speak that way." His voice cracked halfway, indicating that he was plainly lying. It's a good thing I don't embarrass easily, he thought to himself.

Lucius smirked at his companion, "I'm not worried about Dumbledore, Severus. We both know that I can handle him. So you are keen on her, then? It's painfully obvious; we wouldn't want anyone to find out."

Severus glared at him, but then glanced over his shoulder at Evans. She was laughing; the most beautiful sound he had ever heard. She tossed her long hair over her shoulders, and was trying in vain to ruffle Potter's hair. She was quite a bit shorter than him, and he laughed at her antics before kissing her forehead.

It made his stomach churn with jealousy, and he briefly thought he was going to be sick. Lucius shook his head sadly, though he was smiling cruelly, "She really shouldn't laugh like that."

Severus looked at his friend and raised a questioning eyebrow. "Enlighten me, Lucius…why shouldn't she?"

Lucius sneered at him, and suddenly Severus wasn't as sure of himself as he had been a moment before. Malfoy turned on his heel and tossed over his shoulder, "She doesn't know who is falling in love with her smile."

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NOTE: Just something I whipped up in inspiration from one of my other stories. I don't own Harry Potter: Thanks for reading…read and review! Yeah!


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